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Peer support in Australia: empowering people to live well with diabetes

8 January 2018 | Australian Diabetes Educator

By Jones C, Hider K, Hassard K, Speight J.

Peer support enables people with diabetes to connect with each other. Feedback from peer support group members suggests this is a beneficial complement to their mainstream care for diabetes. So what is peer support, what is the evidence surrounding it, and what enables a valuable and sustainable model of peer support for people living with diabetes?

Diabetes and Emotional Health

September 2017 | Diabetes Management

By Hendrieckx C, Speight J. 


Should self-monitoring blood glucose be encouraged for adults with type 2 diabetes? 

15 September 2017 | Endocrine Today

By Owens D, Speight J.

In a key study published in 1983, Cohen and Zimmet showed that blood glucose control improves when SMBG is used by adults with type 2 diabetes who are well-informed as to when to monitor and why they are monitoring, what their blood glucose values mean and what needs to be done about them.


Sexual dysfunction in diabetes: Not just a man's problem

September 2017 | Australian Diabetes Educator

By Ventura AD, Speight J. 

Sexual dysfunction is a common comorbidity and long term-complication of diabetes, among both men and women. Several studies have documented the prevalence and risk factors associated with sexual dysfunction among men with diabetes.


Psychological barriers to insulin use among Australians with type 2 diabetes, and clinical strategies to reduce them

January 2017 | Diabetes & Primary Care Australia

By Holmes-Truscott E, Speight J.

Treatment intensification among adults with type 2 diabetes is commonly delayed beyond the point at which clinical need is identified, particularly within primary care. Causes of this delay are multifaceted.

The psychological impact of hypoglycaemia: the hidden depths of the type 2 diabetes iceberg

October 2016 | Endocrinology Today

Speight J, Hendrieckx C 

Hypoglycaemia is a concern to many people with type 2 diabetes, particularly as it is the most common side effect of some glucose-lowering therapies. Although the immediate risks to the individual are evident and usually manageable, the psychological impact is often less visible but more pervasive, with long-term implications for both self-management and quality of life.


Pharmacists adding value: glucose monitoring in type 2 diabetes

7 September 2016 | In the Know (magazine of the Pharmacy Guild)

By Speight J.

Recent policy changes mean blood glucose strips are now restricted for people with non-insulin-treated type 2 diabetes – but that doesn’t mean monitoring is not valuable. Pharmacists can support structured monitoring to promote active self-management.


Fear of hypoglycaemia in type 1 diabetes: a brief review of evidence and implications for clinical practice

June 2016 | Australian Diabetes Educator

Speight J, Hendrieckx C.


Blood Glucose: To monitor or not in type 2 diabetes? Practical implications of the Choosing Wisely recommendation

March 2016 | Diabetes & Primary Care Australia

By Furler J, Browne JL, Speight J (2016)

Originating in the USA in 2012 and launched in Australia in 2015, the Choosing Wisely campaign is a professionally driven initiative that aims to encourage clinicians and consumers to question the use of medical tests, treatments and procedures. One of the most widely adopted campaign recommendations focuses on diabetes, and the role of routine self-monitoring of blood glucose.


How can we improve uptake of structured diabetes education?

2016 | Diabetes Digest

By Speight J.

Mental health and diabetes: does age make a difference?

2015 | Diabetes Management

By Browne JL, Speight J.


NDSS National Development Program for Mental Health and Diabetes

2015 | Diabetes Management

By Halliday JA, Speight J.

Translating messages about physical activity into practice: How to promote physical activity among people with type 2 diabetes?

2013 | Diabetes Management

By Mosely K, Browne JL, Speight J 


Behavioural interventions to reduce problematic hypoglycaemia

2013 | Diabetes Management

By Speight J, Hendrieckx C, Skinner TC. 

How psychological support can help people living with diabetes

14 November 2012 | The Conversation

By Speight J, Hendrieckx C, Browne JL. 

Medical advances are important but we believe the key to living successfully with diabetes is something else entirely. Paying attention to the behavioural and psychological aspects of the condition is crucial to managing diabetes and preventing its complications.


Highlighting the unmet needs of Australian adults with diabetes: First results from Diabetes MILES - Australia

November 2012 | Australian Diabetes Educator

By Browne JL, Speight J.

In July 2011, The Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes undertook a national survey of adults with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The survey focused on the psychological, social, and behavioural aspects of living with diabetes.


More than Words.

12 June 2012 | MJA Insight

By Conn JJ, Speight J.

Diabetes Australia recently published a position statement with the aim of raising awareness among health professionals about the power of language surrounding diabetes. The position statement highlights how verbal and written language can reflect and influence ideas, emotions and behaviours.


Back off, fatists – obesity blame-games don’t help anyone

9 February 2012 | The Conversation

By Browne JL, Speight J.

For anyone having doubts about overweight or obese people feeling blamed and shamed, the comments on a recent article about a positive image library should settle the matter. They clearly illustrate the assumption that obesity and associated conditions are the fault of the individual, the result of a personal failure to be fit and healthy – they are not.


Monitoring psychological well-being of people living with diabetes: how to implement in clinical practice

January 2012 | Diabetes Management

By Hendrieckx C, Speight J

Diabetes is one of the most challenging, demanding and costly chronic conditions. There is strong evidence that people of all ages living with diabetes are more distressed and have more depressive symptoms than the general population. Systematic reviews report the prevalence of depressive symptoms in type 1 and type 2 diabetes to be two to three times higher than in people without diabetes.

Assessing impaired awareness of hypoglycaemia

2011 | Diabetes Management

By Speight J.


A new language for diabetes: improving communications with and about people with diabetes

2011 | Diabetes Management

By Speight J, Conn J, Dunning T, Holmes-Truscott E, Skinner TC